Collection: Cabasas

Cabasas from Groove Masters Percussion and MEINL.

A cabasa is a metal or wooden cylinder wrapped in loops of steel bead chain, mounted on a handle. It is played by holding the beads still against the palm and twisting the handle, which drags the chains across the ridged cylinder and produces a bright, grainy rattle that starts and stops exactly when you want it to.

That control is the difference between a cabasa and a shaker. A shaker keeps sounding while the hand moves. A cabasa can be cut off cleanly, which lets it play an actual rhythm rather than a wash, and it is why the instrument holds a sixteenth-note pattern in Latin ensembles.

It can also simply be shaken, which gives a looser and softer sound for anyone not ready for the twisting technique.

GMP cabasas come in three sizes. The MEINL Turbo Cabasa comes in four and uses a moulded body with the bead chains set into a fixed frame.